The Seeds of Survival Scale-Up Program is a five-year, $19.5 million climate resilience and food security program (2015-2020) funded by Global Affairs Canada. It is implemented in six countries with leading local partners and technically supported and managed by SeedChange. The objective of the program has been to scale up tested biodiversity-based strategies and practices, and agroecological innovations that strengthen resilience and food/seed security of marginalized farm households and Indigenous and non-Indigenous farming communities. Over the five year program, the project has supported more than 31,500 rural farmers in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

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In April 2020, the specific five-year program Seeds of Survival (SoS) Scale-up Project was coming to an end, having worked with 48,149 participants and 27,000 small-scale farm households in six countries across two continents (Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala in Central America, and Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Mali in Africa). 

In 2020, Global Affairs Canada approved an emergency response project “Supporting COVID-19 Response in Rural and Indigenous Communities” which focused on women’s priorities and needs, principally through access to productive resources and economic activities, as well as through awareness-raising campaigns on gender based violence.

A presentation on the results and impact of the SoS program can be viewed here.

A presentation on the results and impact of the C-19 emergency response program (2020-2021) can be viewed here.

The end of this major SoS program required an assessment of how and where limited funds from SeedChange, select foundations and individual donors could be invested to cover the time until longer term funds could be secured. This was a difficult process of consultation and open conversations with partners. With due process the partnership in Burkina Faso closed in 2020, and in Guatemala and Nicaragua after 2021. 

In Ethiopia, it was possible to shift to a new model with a women’s rights organization in the lead and within a year, Ethiopia work was able to begin again, through the Rural Women Cultivating Change in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

In Mali, the last operational office of USC Canada overseas was closed (four other offices had all closed and transitioned to partnerships over the previous 10 years), and a partnership solidified with IRPAD-Afrique. This work continues with specific time bound foundation funding as SeedChange continues to apply for support to scale up work in the Sahel region of West Africa.

In Honduras, the almost 30 years of partnership with FIPAH continues, though on a reduced scale. While we were able to secure funding for 2023, beyond this year, SeedChange is actively pursuing long-term funding opportunities that will allow us to continue this vital partnership well into the future. Learn more here.

In Bolivia, our three year program with PRODII (coming to a close in 2023) has supported important work with Indigenous Quechua communities of Northern Potosí to strengthen biodiversity-based agriculture. Learn more in this video.

We maintain relationships for technical collaboration with many past partners via the Working Group on Participatory Plant Breeding and Resilient Seed Systems (created with support from the Global Alliance on the Future of Food) and the informal Seeds of Survival network around the world (see the SoS Webinar in February 2023).

Read more about the Seeds of Survival (SoS) program here.